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Posted: 2/4/2006 7:32:21 AM EDT
[#1]
After Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, and Band of Brothers...I have a VERY hard time watching ANY old war movie. Seeing American tanks with swastika markings just doesn't cut it nowdays. And this was one of the better WW2 movies from years back.
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Posted: 2/4/2006 7:38:34 AM EDT
[#2]
I LOVE this movie. What makes it better, I've actually spent a week in Nijmegan and got to see the numerous memorials built to units like the 82nd and other Airborne units.
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Posted: 2/4/2006 11:30:51 AM EDT
[#3]
Out standing movie!!I love it!!!
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Posted: 2/4/2006 11:36:39 AM EDT
[#4]
One of the best war movies of all time.
SSgt. Eddie Dohun: Colonel, if you don't look at him right now, he's going to die. U.S. medical colonel: He's dead now. SSgt. Eddie Dohun: It would mean a lot to me, sir, if you'd check him out. U.S. medical colonel: Come on, Sergeant! For Chrissakes get him out of here! SSgt. Eddie Dohun: Would you look at him please, sir. [draws his .45] SSgt. Eddie Dohun: Right now. Or I'll blow your fuckin' head off. [cocks the .45] SSgt. Eddie Dohun: Right now. U.S. medical colonel: I can give him a quick examination if you like. SSgt. Eddie Dohun: Thank you very much, sir. U.S. medical colonel: Sergeant Dohun pulled a gun on me and threatened to kill me unless I did precisely what he ordered. I want you to put him under arrest. Lt. Rafferty: Yes sir. U.S. medical colonel: I want you to keep him there. I want you to keep him there for at least ten seconds. Lt. Rafferty: I'm not all that sure I understand, Colonel. U.S. medical colonel: Count to ten, Lieutenant, fast. Lt. Rafferty: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Like that, sir? U.S. medical colonel: [dismisses him] Thank you, Lieutenant.  |
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Posted: 2/4/2006 11:43:42 AM EDT
[#5]
A very good war movie, and it has Gene Hackman and Michael Caine (my thesis).
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Posted: 2/4/2006 12:09:46 PM EDT
[#6]
Ever wonder why nearly all of the best war movies involve The United States Army?
I don't.
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Posted: 2/4/2006 6:39:01 PM EDT
[#7]
I just could not buy Robert Redford as a military officer.
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Posted: 2/4/2006 6:52:41 PM EDT
[#8]
I actually liked him in that role. "Hail Mary, full of grace!..." |
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Posted: 2/4/2006 7:17:05 PM EDT
[#9]
It was an outstanding book and a not so hot screen play.. I saw the movie when it first came out and a lot of folks leaving afterwards said they didn't have a clue what was going on. It does have a good Hollywood cast but The Longest Day tops it.
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Posted: 2/4/2006 7:26:01 PM EDT
[#10]
I have read the book and seen the movie on the big screen and I have it on tape. Book was excellent. The movie is confusing as all get out. If I hadn't read the book, I wouldn't have understood what it was all about either. It does have a lot of really great scenes in it, but it is a real mishmash and confusing to follow.
The conversation about it being "A Bridge Too Far" was actually before the battle, not afterwards. On the big screen the scene about being on the receiving end of a rolling barrage is very impressive. It was Ryan's last book and he was battling prostrate cancer as he wrote it. It was finished only a few weeks or so before his death. |
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Posted: 2/4/2006 9:40:45 PM EDT
[#11]
Well, they're Dutch German-built tanks with swastika markings in that movie. (Leopard 1) NTM |
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Posted: 2/4/2006 9:49:57 PM EDT
[#12]
That Waffen-SS mech counter-attack on the Bridge was pretty good for back in the day.
Great soundtrack music too. |
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Posted: 2/4/2006 10:13:29 PM EDT
[#13]
Good movie, great book. Movie is better if you know the book.
I love the scene where the German comes asking for the British to lay down their arms. Always a laugh, even if it is a combination of two different incidents. I do like it for how it portrays British officers. It's just so, amusing I guess, to an American like how in the first British assault on the Arnhem bridge how Major Carlyle is walking with his umbrella like he's out for a walk in a park. Similar to Lord Lovat in The Longest Day. Interesting fact:
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Posted: 2/4/2006 10:29:29 PM EDT
[#14]
I just picked up PLATOON at walmart, they just lowered the price down to $7.50 for the DVD |
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Posted: 2/4/2006 11:06:32 PM EDT
[#15]
I liked Redford in that role too. However, the real Major Cook never did many of the things that Redford did in the film. IIRC, he was so busy directing the assault that he didn't even fire his weapon that day. For example, the mad dash up the bank and the confrontation with the British officer was actually done by one of his Lieutenants who was recently interviewed for a 'History versus Hollywood' History Channel special. BTW, he said the was so furious at British officer that he actually drew his sidearm.  The British also played a role in the assault too that was completely left out because, "Having Redford make the assault was simply better box office." Major Cook really did the "Hail Mary" chant during the crossing though.Ryan O'neal on the other hand. Oy...  Apparently he was chosen for Gen. Gavin because he was fresh off 'Love Story' and was considered a hot commodity.
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Posted: 2/4/2006 11:19:20 PM EDT
[#16]
Bittrich's Aide: [Walking across Arnhem Bridge with a white flag]
Major Harry Carlyle: That's far enough Bittrich's Aide: My General says that there is no point in continuing this fight and is willing to discuss terms of surrender. John Frost: [in the background - sotto voce] Tell them to go to hell! Major Harry Carlyle: Sorry, we don't have the proper facilities to take you all prisoner... Sorry, We'd like to... [Bittrich's Aide turns away confused]
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Posted: 2/4/2006 11:26:12 PM EDT
[#17]
I love the part where the German saldier walks by the window, does a double-take, and then Connery pops him with his sidearm.
Anyone else notice Cliff Clavin in the movie? |
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Posted: 2/4/2006 11:30:13 PM EDT
[#18]
She doesn't like noise. She hates it!
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Posted: 2/4/2006 11:51:07 PM EDT
[#19]
John Ratzenberger. More trivia (I'm just full of BS today! ):Dick Bogarde, who played Lt. General Browning was a member of the British 1st Airborne in Arnhem. A coworker of mine is from the Nijmeagen area. She told us that the battle is very much a part of the area's history and that schoolchildren are usually well versed in what happened. |
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Posted: 2/5/2006 9:47:37 AM EDT
[#20]
One of the best WW2 movies, hands-down. It's not easy to have a movie full of star power (Redford, Connery, Schell, Hopkins, Caine, Hackman) and make it work. Look at how badly Batman Forever bombed, despite having all those big names. A Bridge Too Far is an excellent example of combining excellent directing, writing and acting.
The only negative in the movie, IMO, was Hackman's Polish accent. It was horrible. He should have just dropped it. That, and the airdrop scenes were a wee bit too long but I guess the director wanted to emphasize the enormity of the operation. I put A Bridge Too Far above: Saving Private Ryan Bridge Over The River Kwai The Longest Day Guns of Navarone The Colditz Story Cross of Iron Das Boot The Great Escape Kelly's Heroes Midway Patton Pork Chop Hill Sand of Iwo Jima Tuskegee Airmen ... in fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of a better WW2 film. |
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Posted: 2/5/2006 9:54:48 AM EDT
[#21]
There's also the fact that back then actors could actually, you know, act. Star power then is different from star power today.
It's actually weird how much Connery looks like the officer he played (who's name I would butcher if I tried to spell it). |
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Posted: 2/5/2006 6:41:14 PM EDT
[#22]
William Goldman (screenwriter) once wrote that O'Neal was chosen because he was exactly the age of Gen. Gavin, and no one believed it. Spade: I also understand that Col. Frost did criticize Hopkins over his running, but told him that he shouldn't run so fast, to show his disdain for the enemy to his troops. Just nitpicking -- no offense. And, as always, I may be wrong. |
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Posted: 2/5/2006 7:42:31 PM EDT
[#23]
I just realized that I have the book. I'll have to read it this week. |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 2:49:05 AM EDT
[#24]
Did anyone else notice that toward the end, when the British were surrendering at the house/hospital, that one of the Germans marching in was carrying a Garand! Argh!!
I enjoyed the movie really more out of an appreciation of what it took to make big production films. I really had a hard time taking Ryan O'neal as Gavin but could look past it. |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 3:32:34 AM EDT
[#25]
He's better than George Clowney in Thin Red Line! Was the character Elliott Gould played really divorced twice? That's unusual for the time.z |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 7:01:49 AM EDT
[#26]
Need to go out and find the the film The Winter War. Once you get past the subtitles, it is a very good film. |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 9:32:39 AM EDT
[#27]
It's subtitled, but Downfall was awesome-even has hookers and blow! |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 9:38:16 AM EDT
[#28]
My understanding is that the Germans happily used captured equipment all the time, especially if it wass better than theirs, so a German carrying a Garand would not be all that strange. Stranger than that though, it could have represented a German-manufactured Garand. At least one author I have read has stated that the Germans liked the Garand so much that they reverse engineered it, and went so far as to give it an official Heer/Wehrmacht/whatever designation (model number, contract number, and all that). |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 9:40:41 AM EDT
[#29]
I have read the German troops liked the Garand and used them as battle pick-ups until the ammo ran out. One of the books I read about the battle mentioned that many German troops prefered the STEN to the MP-40 because the firer could lay prone with the side mounted magazine. They were a prized battle pick-up and since they ran on 9mm, the only limiting factor was magazines. |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 9:41:50 AM EDT
[#30]
+1 Dripping with Finn Nagant goodness. |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 9:45:43 AM EDT
[#31]
After you finnish Ryan's book, read this one for a German view of the battle. It Never Snows In September |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 9:50:29 AM EDT
[#32]
I just watched that scene and, of the four Germans visible, two had Garands, the third might have had one, and the fourth wasn't carrying a rifle. Maybe Attenborough was trying to tell us something about who the victors were. |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 9:50:30 AM EDT
[#33]
The Caine/HAckman Theory? PCU |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 11:06:22 AM EDT
[#34]
Thought I read that the Krauts re-chambered captured Garands to shoot 8mm ammo. Might be an old soldier's tale.
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Posted: 2/6/2006 11:11:16 AM EDT
[#35]
Because you are American. It has some significance to you. People in other nations have their own favorites. |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 11:14:04 AM EDT
[#36]
cool - thanks |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 11:17:23 AM EDT
[#37]
Yes, I believe he may have had a point -- at any given moment on cable TV there is a movie playing with Michael Caine or Gene Hackman. |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 11:21:42 AM EDT
[#38]
This might seem quite obvious to some, but I was intrigued by the Americans and Brits throwing grenades in this movie (I don't believe that a German, Pole, or Dutchman does so in the film). Americans throw them like baseballs; Brits like cricket bowlers. I am pretty sure that Americans are trained to throw them differently (i.e., not like a baseball), but we revert to what we know and the national characteristics were, somehow, reassuring. |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 12:39:21 PM EDT
[#39]
The old hand grenades that the Irish used to use before they went to the modern light ones (much lighter/more ergonomic than current American ones) were heavy enough that it was pretty much a full body movement to throw them. The straight arm, whilst also familiar for cricket, also provided the required leverage.
Pineapple grenades may have been light enough for people just to peg it. NTM |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 12:46:18 PM EDT
[#40]
One of, if not, my favorite World War II Movie. Very intresting battle, Outstanding cast; Makes for a grade A flick.
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Posted: 2/6/2006 1:48:44 PM EDT
[#41]
Mills Bomb 
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Posted: 2/6/2006 2:01:43 PM EDT
[#42]
How about Too Late the Hero for a great WWII movie?
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Posted: 2/6/2006 4:02:19 PM EDT
[#43]
I've always liked that one. Michael Caine, but no Gene Hackman. It was Aldrich's attempt to recapture his success from "The Dirty Dozen." Also known as "Suicide Run." That last scene with Caine and Robertson running for their lives is a real "SIT UP AND WATCH" moment. Henry Fonda has a good cameo. Best line (besides the last, and I won't tell for those who haven't seen it) is from Caine. After a member of the team of "odds and sods" (in wool Tams in the jungle) steps on a mine: "You might say, he has us surrounded." |
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Posted: 2/6/2006 4:27:58 PM EDT
[#44]
This list has been done to death, but I'm going to throw out a few: A Walk in the Sun (which has been remade over and over, and is now being remade again with a script by John Milius) The Best Years of Our Lives (a war film without any war in it) Saints and Soldiers (which I think is better than any of the big budget jobs done over the past 10 or so years) Castle Keep (I think captures the absurd moments very well, and better than Catch 22) Gotta give a big honorable mention to "Hell in the Pacific" A real oddity is "A Time to Love and a Time to Die," featuring John Gavin. I have no idea how this ever got made, but if you get a chance ... |
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Posted: 2/7/2006 8:45:34 AM EDT
[#45]
"12 O'Clock High" is also an excellent WWII movie. I still think "The Great Escape" and "Bridge on the River Kwai" are excellent WWII films. GunLvr |
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